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Is Digital Marketing Played out in 2019?

Both B2B and B2C businesses are increasingly turning to digital marketing as a major part of their promotional strategy. And why wouldn’t they? Digital marketing can be a cost-effective way of building up your brand reputation— from social media management and content strategy to online reviews.

Compared to more traditional methods, it can also be a potent tool to help you reach a wider audience. Everyone is on the Internet these days, and that’s where businesses need to market when trying to build out their presence.

Roughly 81% of 18–34-year-olds search online for businesses each week compared to 60% of 35–54-year-olds.

The numbers will only continue to increase from here.

If you’re going to keep up with your competitors, you’ll need to stay on top of an ever-changing digital marketing landscape. Here are some common digital marketing methods that might be right for your company.

Customers Engage Businesses on Social Media

Cultivating a strong user base on social media channels is a great way for businesses to build their online presence while promoting new or existing content. More than that, social media offers businesses a chance to receive real-time feedback from customers.

Forbes council member Scott Darrohn says, “Businesses should no longer be viewing social media posts as one-way conversations. Instead, 2019 will see brands using social media to engage with audiences and gauge their wants and needs.”

It’s important to view social media as a dialogue between your business and your consumers, not just as a means to post content. Interact personably with your audience and use that conversation to learn more about how to better cater to them.

Good Content Attracts Customers

You need to create compelling content at a balanced cadence if you want your audience to engage with you. This can be through a well-curated blog that you update throughout the week, social media blurbs that get across your key messaging, or tailored emails.

Whatever the channel, you should leverage your content to tell your business’s story in an accessible way:

Reinforce your company’s values through a product or service offering.

Highlight specific accomplishments to show constant growth.

Repurpose and reframe data in various mediums to target different audiences.

The goal is not to push out as much material as possible. Rather, you want to keep your brand at the top of the consumer’s mind in between purchasing decisions while positioning yourself as a leader in your field. Producing relevant content will help draw in customers.

Online Reviews Can Influence Major Buying Decisions

An often-overlooked part of digital marketing is having a reputation management strategy in place, especially when it comes to online reviews. This is essential considering that nearly 97% of consumers rely on reviews to shop for local businesses.

In a 2013 survey by Zendesk, roughly two-thirds of over 1,000 participants reported reading online reviews when making purchasing decisions. Check out the graph below for the breakdown:

The graph shows that, of those individuals who read online reviews, 90% were influenced by positive reviews before purchasing, as compared to 86% for negative reviews.

It’s a no-brainer that businesses need to invest in cultivating reviews to boost their brand reputation. For example, companies can use B2B ratings platforms like Clutch to showcase their services. Clutch’s data-driven research helps perspective buyers find small- to medium-sized businesses based on client reviews.

Establishing a prominent collection of online reviews is paramount to influencing your audience.

Digital Marketing Is Worth the Investment

It’s clear why businesses pour so much into digital marketing—it’s one of the best ways to get your brand in front of your target audience.

Engaging customers through social media, creating relevant content, and aggregating online reviews can all help establish a robust web presence for your company.

As a long-standing full-service digital agency, we understand the ins and outs of digital marketing. Our mission is to find creative technical solutions to our clients’ marketing challenges, serving clients from a wide range of industries.

If you’re looking for a digital partner to help grow your business, don’t hesitate to contact us for a brief consultation. At ArcStone, we know that happiness starts here.